Regretting taking math HL

[blindpet]

Not to freak you out but I started in Math HL and it was 'doable' but in the first year it's generally easier cause you start out with arithmetic series, proofs by induction etc. Many of my friends in Math HL who practiced all of the time and were the smartest math people in the class all did poorly on the exam. They said they couldn't do half of the questions. Also the amount of practice you have to do to stay on top of things for HL is astronomical and that was why I dropped it - I didn't want to spend 20 hours a week doing math. Have a look at as many past papers as you can and see if you can do the problems you've already learned the material for. If you don't need HL, drop it like a bad habit.

Samuel K, you amused me, thank you

[master135]

Math HL is doable - even though it is one of the more difficult subjects in IB. I took it, didn't like it while doing it, but am glad I did it. I feel it prepared me well for university. Math SL on the other hand its pretty easy (IMO) if you are good at math. So if you need it, or are going into something with Math - take HL. Otherwise SL would be a good choice.

[CocoPop]

Personally I found that Maths HL started off as very "doable" (as people have so aptly put it). Tests were pretty straightforward and concepts became familiar quickly. However, from the beginning of Y13 (i.e. IB2), the level of difficulty and the pressure of the course skyrocketed. I had serious doubts that I would achieve my predicted grade of 7 by around March, and felt completely hopeless after the exam (I thought I'd flunked it).

HOWEVER I did get a 7 in the end, despite feeling completely shattered after the exam, and here's why:

First off, you've got coursework to back you up in case the exam goes badly. I knew that the exam would be unpredictable and therefore worked my ASS off for the internal assessments. I ended up getting 39/40 (20/20 and 19/20) in my coursework, which probably helped immensely in pulling up my score if I were otherwise on the borderline. If there's one massive piece of advice that I can give from my IB experience it's this: work as hard as you possibly can for your coursework. Not just for maths, but for every subject. It's the one thing in the entire IB that you have control over, and you certainly don't want that potential to go to waste. All of my subjects had some internal assessment component to it, and that's where I really picked up the marks.

Second, whilst the exams can be incredibly hard (and feel 10 times harder when you're sitting the real thing), the grade boundaries fluctuate to accommodate changes in difficulty. The notorious May 2009 Paper 2 TZ2 is renowned for having a ridiculously hard question involving two circles with lines tangent to them. When you find out the answer you realize that it's actually a very basic question, but it's very difficult to spot the trick that makes it so much easier. That's what the IB likes to do - make you think intuitively to tackle questions. And sometimes you won't get it and will end up losing all 18 marks like some people did for that question. So what happened? Rather than the boundary for a 7 being around 95/120 as it usually is, the boundary dropped to 77/120!

Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Good luck with your exams and keep going even when you're losing hope. There were so many times in Y13 when I told myself that I was not made for maths HL or physics HL... only to realize afterwards that hard works pays off. You don't have to be a genius.

Edited July 8, 2010 by CocoPop

[saunders is god]

cocopop, does maths hl work take up a proportionally large amount of time compared to other relatively easier subjects?

also, is it realistically possible to achieve a 7 as long as you put in the work?

and well done on your diploma score!!!

Edited August 4, 2010 by saunders is god

[Guest]

I actually found calculus to be one of the most enjoyable maths topics *shrugs* =) don't worry about it too much, people like to complain about calculus but I don't think it's really that hard for math-oriented people.

I'm taking HL math, switched to it 5 weeks ago because I found SL really easy (and I what I think I want to study requires HL). I had to take a test 3 weeks ago in the class, and I studied for 30+ hours over the weekend (I had to make up about 3 and a half months of material in that time) and I got a 64% which my teacher very kindly curved to an 80%

I'm really really enjoying the class, I missed the challenge of math in SL maths.

I also had a really tough time picking classes at the start of IB. I'm taking HL English and while I love reading, I find it to be an extremely challenging class (probably easier than HL maths, but I haven't stuck with maths that long). Maybe because I dislike poetry and am generally unmotivated when it comes to IA's

anyway, I wish you luck with whatever you choose and give HL maths a shot, you can always drop down =D

Hi Lexie,

Just want to have a quick chat with you regarding HL and SL Math, as we are in the same year and my exams are also in May 2011.

I really enjoy doing Math and I find Math SL quite easy since the beginning of the academic year, and I did think of switching to Math HL. However, as I entered the school about a month late, the IB coordinator have questioned me if I can cope with what I had missed. Clearly, I found that the topics studied in SL were what I had done in the past, and I had no problems catching up. However, I didn't transfer to HL Math because I was afraid I couldn't cope for the next 2 years, the HL Math teacher won't like me in the class since I have missed so much, and that I will regret in the future for making my life so difficult with HL Math.

Now, I am regretting that I didn't transfer earlier on in the year, and I really envy my friends in HL Math for doing so much fun stuff, though it is hard. Some of the courses I am considering to take in University needs HL Math as well. Since you transfered about 2 months ago and likewise have missed half the year,do you still think that it would be a good idea for me to talk to my Math teacher to see if I can transfer at this stage?

Thanks!

Yes you CAN transfer...do it ...it will be great...but talk to the IB coordinator of your school. they are better.

[chrypton]

Second, whilst the exams can be incredibly hard (and feel 10 times harder when you're sitting the real thing), the grade boundaries fluctuate to accommodate changes in difficulty. The notorious May 2009 Paper 2 TZ2 is renowned for having a ridiculously hard question involving two circles with lines tangent to them. When you find out the answer you realize that it's actually a very basic question, but it's very difficult to spot the trick that makes it so much easier. That's what the IB likes to do - make you think intuitively to tackle questions. And sometimes you won't get it and will end up losing all 18 marks like some people did for that question. So what happened? Rather than the boundary for a 7 being around 95/120 as it usually is, the boundary dropped to 77/120!

The boundaries never fluctuate by that much, it is usually only a matter of 1-2 marks. The boundary for a 7 in the May 2009 Paper 2 TZ2 was 77/120, while this year it was 79/120, so not much of a difference at all. Moreover, the percentage for getting a 7 was slightly lower than last year.

You have to take into account that on average the exams will have almost the same difficulty each year, because if a lot of Europeans get a question wrong, than a lot of the Chinese can get it right and it evens off.

[CocoPop]

The boundaries never fluctuate by that much, it is usually only a matter of 1-2 marks. The boundary for a 7 in the May 2009 Paper 2 TZ2 was 77/120, while this year it was 79/120, so not much of a difference at all. Moreover, the percentage for getting a 7 was slightly lower than last year.

You have to take into account that on average the exams will have almost the same difficulty each year, because if a lot of Europeans get a question wrong, than a lot of the Chinese can get it right and it evens off.

I was referring to the TZ2 fluctuation between 2008 and 2009. In May 2008 the boundary for a 7 was around 80% overall (98/120 for P1 and 90/120 for P2, plus P3 and coursework). This was consistent with previous years, but perhaps the recent fluctuations are due to the fact that the IBO changed the format of maths HL exams in 2008. 2008-2009 was the only year when there was a massive change in difficulty of the exam, and it was accordingly the only year that experienced a large drop in the grade boundary... Of course this is less likely to occur now since there won't be changes in formats, but I just wanted to illustrate that in the likelihood that an exam is considerably more difficult, there is a possibility that the boundary will change equally.

cocopop, does maths hl work take up a proportionally large amount of time compared to other relatively easier subjects?

also, is it realistically possible to achieve a 7 as long as you put in the work?

and well done on your diploma score!!!

Yes, I generally found that I had to give my HL subjects a disproportionate amount of attention. I think that you might agree seeing as you take similar subjects to me, but the workload required for maths, physics and economics HL is vastly greater than that required for SL languages... and I got away with cramming chem SL before every test (so whilst I worked a lot for it, it was concentrated into short periods of intense cramming). I didn't get huge amounts of work set by my teachers for maths HL, but because it requires consistency and constant practice, it took up lots of time. It really depends on how easily you can pick up new topics. For me, a single lesson of learning a new topic was enough for me to understand it quite well, whereas others may have had to go over the topic a few times before feeling comfortable with it.

[chrypton]

I was referring to the TZ2 fluctuation between 2008 and 2009. In May 2008 the boundary for a 7 was around 80% overall (98/120 for P1 and 90/120 for P2, plus P3 and coursework). This was consistent with previous years, but perhaps the recent fluctuations are due to the fact that the IBO changed the format of maths HL exams in 2008. 2008-2009 was the only year when there was a massive change in difficulty of the exam, and it was accordingly the only year that experienced a large drop in the grade boundary... Of course this is less likely to occur now since there won't be changes in formats, but I just wanted to illustrate that in the likelihood that an exam is considerably more difficult, there is a possibility that the boundary will change equally.

Sorry, my bad. I thought you were referring to the difference between 2008 and 2009. Yeah, the change in format seems to have a really big impact on the mark boundaries.

[saunders is god]

yeah what the ****, everyone says its either hard or "doable" i hate that word doable!

[Bishup]

yeah what the ****, everyone says its either hard or "doable" i hate that word doable!

The simple answer is that it is hard. It is possible to achieve a level 7 if you work hard. To strive in Math HL you need to put a lot of work in on a regular basis and you're fine. To study 'effectively' you should learn the things on the syllabus and practice every single past paper. Note that math is creative and that solving a problem is not as simple as replicating from what you have learned in the syllabus. Questions can be devious and can incorporate different topics although not that much, often simple stuff which you just need to keep in check.

[Danika]

I DEFFINETELY REGRET TAKING MATH HL... and it REALLY is like suicide (specially when you have arts HL)

[Grumps]

Naw man stick with HL. SL is just a party every day and we don't get **** done.

[Danika]

Naw man stick with HL. SL is just a party every day and we don't get **** done.

Hey at least you have time for that!!!

[phnuggle]

I was in the same boat as you when I started year 11 and I did HL Maths, at first I thought it was okay but after a year I couldn't do it anymore there was just too much work. Thankgod I had 4 HL's. I was at the top of my year in Maths in yr 10, and now I've dropped considerably. HL Maths requires alot of effort and natural ability. It is virtually impossible to get a high mark in the Portfolio and the exams are tedious. If I were you I would take on 4 HL's and then if HL Maths is too much you have something to fall back upon.

My friend also took at 4 HL's but all four of them were really hard, and he was forced to drop HL Bio becasue he didn't keep up. Now he's doing HL Bio, HL History and HL Maths and is facing a failure because his maths simply isn't good enough.

Good Luck!!

And have a happy 2 years LOL

[Austin Glau]

I think the HL portfolios aren't that bad, you can get an ok mark although usually not a 19 or 20. I found HL math to be challenging and the some of the tests were insane, although others weren't that bad. so i took the sl exam last year lol im trying again this year though

[Redbean]

math HL is alot of work

i am in my first month

and it doesn't allow me to do my chem and bio HL stuff so i'm so behind in those 2 subjects

except for 2 people the rest of our class got 50%

so i am thinking of dropping it and switching to english HL

[Guest]

math HL is alot of work

i am in my first month

and it doesn't allow me to do my chem and bio HL stuff so i'm so behind in those 2 subjects

except for 2 people the rest of our class got 50%

so i am thinking of dropping it and switching to english HL

Same here...I think I might too...but people are saying that English HL is HARD.

[MinaDoan]

I didn't even listen to my cousin. The fact that his teacher scared him off didn't effect my choice much Shame on him =]]! Anw, I aimed for Maths Extension 2 in the HSC Australia and... my school doesn't have further Maths IB course (which is it's equivalent)

Somehow, I think it's a luck ^^ because I don't want to gain a 7 in Maths while other subjects can end up 1 or 2 ^^!

So.... if you are really confident like this fool, take Maths HL

[Austin Glau]

Naw man stick with HL. SL is just a party every day and we don't get **** done.

that doesn't sound that bad

[Guest]

As good as it may seem...you may want to speak to your college counselor before you make any rash decisions.